


Do We Want To?  Do I Want To?

by Yrindor



Series: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Fills [53]
Category: Prince of Stride: Alternative (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Guilt, Introspection, M/M, Prompt Fic, Relationship Issues, SASO 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 12:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7573561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After everything fell apart, Heath, Kyousuke, and Tomoe all relegated their relationship to something of the past.  But when the opportunity to try again presented itself, the question wasn't "do we try again?" but "do we want to?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do We Want To?  Do I Want To?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wasabipeas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasabipeas/gifts).



> Written for Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Bonus Round 4. The prompt was the quote:
>
>> "Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle."  
> \- Mr. (Fred) Rogers

Heath wondered if it had been naive of him to think that everything could go back to the way it had been before. At the beginning of their second year, he, Kyousuke, and Tomoe had been so excited and hopeful about their relationship. And then he was injured, Tomoe left for America, and everything fell apart.

On some level, he wondered if it was his fault. After the incident, maybe he hadn't reached out to his teammates as much as he should have. Maybe he had been so focused on saving the club that he had caused its downfall by neglecting the people who were at its core.

He had relegated their relationship to something of the past when Tomoe suddenly came back. He knew Kyousuke had been hit even harder by Tomoe's departure than he had, so he had no illusions that bringing the three of them back together would be easy, but he was determined to try. After all, love meant nothing if it wasn't worth fighting for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyousuke wondered if he would ever be able to move past Tomoe's betrayal. It had been bad enough after the incident their second year when Tomoe had left shortly thereafter without a word. It had been weeks before he even learned Tomoe had left the country.

He had had a brief moment of hope when he learned Tomoe had returned to Japan, but that hope was crushed when Honan faced Kakyoin, and Tomoe pulled him aside after the race to deride him for the value he placed on his teammates.

"Sayonara, Kyousuke," Tomoe had said, and Kyousuke had felt his world shatter.

He knew Heath had overheard that conversation too, so when Heath had brought up the idea of trying to repair their relationship with Tomoe anyway, he had been dumbfounded.

He still loved Tomoe, perhaps he always would, but he wasn't sure he would ever be able to trust him fully again, not after the damage he had done. He would try though, because he cared about Heath, and because some part of him did still desperately want to make things better again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving had been one of the hardest decisions Tomoe had ever made. He hadn't known how to bring up the subject, how to explain the ways in which he felt too different from the others, and so he hadn't. He had packed his bags one night and left the next morning without a word.

The first few weeks in America had been even more challenging than he had expected. His English wasn't nearly as good as he had thought, and he had struggled to adjust to a new place and a new culture. More than once he had picked up the phone to call Heath or Kyousuke just to hear a familiar voice, but then he had reminded himself that he had burned that bridge, and that it was better for all of them that way.

He hadn't expected to run into his two old teammates as soon as he did after he returned to Japan, but when he did, all of the feelings he had locked away came rushing back to the surface.

He had stamped them out immediately. He had a race to think about, and he couldn't afford the distraction.

He couldn't forget the look of hurt and betrayal Kyousuke had given him when he said goodbye though, and as he lay awake in his hotel room that night, he wondered if what he had said was actually what he wanted.

He didn't deserve them, and they didn't deserve the things he had said to them, but if they ever reached out to him, he thought he might agree to try again.

**Author's Note:**

> This marks the end of Bonus Round 4 fills. Next up is Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore.
> 
> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
